There was a time in his career, when people didn’t know which part of the country he was from or what language he worked in, says Rana Daggubati, adding, “And vice versa – people in the Telugu industry, or the Tamil industry, didn’t know what was happening in Mumbai.”

That’s what makes the shifting dynamics of Indian cinema all the more fascinating to the actor. At a session on film business at IFFI (International Film Festival of India), Rana shared, “It is the first year when we are addressing India as one film industry. What is happening in one industry is no longer alien to others.”

Rana said that OTT has definitely contributed to this shift. “Last week, I was at a party in south Bombay and they spoke to me about every Fahadh Faasil film they have seen in the last two years and this change is kind of incredible. The consumption of content is huge on OTT. You have so much choice on your phone and TV, which is high-quality, 4K, high definition. It gives you an opportunity to engage with those characters for a longer time. If you’re watching a show you’re hooked on those guys for 10 or 12 hours. It’s a different experience.”

On the flipside, the audience is now more selective about which films to watch on the big screen, Rana said, adding, “When Black Panther: Wakanda Forever came out, everybody just got up, and left their offices, to watch it. People are still taking out time to watch KGF and RRR because those are events. If you sit in an auditorium with a giant screen, then you will only go for emotions or experiences that are extreme. Everything that is communal is more likely to be watched on big screens. Today you want cinema to be more authentic, and true to its genre. Whatever genre the filmmakers are making their stories in, they need to be extreme in narrative.”

Rana added, “What is extreme about Kantara? What it is showing you, you have seen it in photographs, you have experienced it. If you are from Karnataka, then you have heard of it or if you are from a different state then you have seen some other version of it, but to see all that together in a single frame. . . (pauses). Now, while I am talking about Kantara, my body is feeling the same effect it did when I first watched it. During the black and white films era, I remember my granddad used to keep talking about films that were devotional and he’d say that he felt God, and after this experience, I felt okay, maybe that’s what he meant...”

Responding to a question on what’s next for cinema, Rana said, “We are just one year into it and we are all figuring out which films to make. I think all stories will find their place. But (it will take) three-four years of making, watching, and consuming them.”

Citing the example of Kantara, Rana said, “It didn’t matter what language the film was made in, everyone watched it in the language they preferred and ended up feeling the same. Earlier, we used to say that films should come out in all languages on the same date. But now we are seeing that if a film works in Kannada then 15 days later or a month later, it comes out in Telugu. And it still does the same job. You will see deferred releases and releases that can be localized. Earlier, this trend of pan-India films was (about spending) 10-15 crores in terms of publicity, otherwise, you would not even reach anywhere. But Pushpa and Kantara broke that whole myth. They spent what they had to spend in their region, and the whole country went to watch it. I think these systems (of pan-India mega-budget releases) will keep changing, and everybody will keep finding their type of affordable cinema.”

In response to the question of ‘why it took India so long for India’s cinema to become united’, Rana said, “When I was a kid, Mani Ratnam sir made Roja and Bombay. Those were Tamil films watched across the country. Everyone knows Roja’s music, no matter which part of the country you are from. Ram Gopal Varma made films like Satya, and again, it didn’t matter which language you spoke, you watched it. Time and again, there were films like these, which were telling us – ’Here you go, guys. We’ve done it.”

Addressing the narrative that in this flux, ‘Hindi cinema has somehow lost its way’, despite recent hits like JugJugg Jeeyo, Gangubai Kathiawadi and Brahmastra, Rana said, “Every time there is a certain change in the industry, the guy who is leading the pack is the first to get hit. I think somewhere Hindi cinema has been leading the pack. They are leading the entire industry in terms of creating music, creating value, and enterprise. And I think that they are closest to the change so they are taking a bit longer.”

About the changing definition of stardom, Rana said, “What is the star concept? The further away you are from a person, the more mystical they are. I don’t think you are going to have the same phenomenon as the yesteryear stars because there was just so little that you got to know about them. The only way to consume stars was through their films. Today, stars are always on social media, and you (the audience) also start treating them as entertainers. The star system will keep changing, and there will be characters that will last beyond stars.”

But are there still going to be stars? “The same thing may not be possible, but greater things are possible. Now you see platforms taking Indian culture, actors and films to a global stage. Becoming global stars is possible for Indian stars.”